Carcass

A medieval executioner must choose between survival or redemption after a young boy is sentenced to death.

  • Eric Wang Schwager
    Director
  • Eric Wang Shwager
    Writer
  • Cyrus Yalda
    Writer
  • Haley Beasley
    Producer
  • Abbie Vance
    Production Designer
  • Christine Ho
    Editor
  • Logan Floyd
    Cinematographer
    Poser
  • Phrederic Semaj
    Key Cast
    "Gabriel"
    A Rodeo Film
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 24 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 28, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    65,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - American Film Institute
Director Biography - Eric Wang Schwager

Eric Wang Schwager is a multi-ethnic director, writer, and producer based in Los Angeles. While earning his MFA at the AFI Conservatory, Eric directed two thesis films, CARCASS and LUCKY MARKET. His half-hour pilot, Bad Beat, was a Cinequest and Screencraft semifinalist and a top-ten finalist at the Nantucket Film Festival. Eric recently directed a commercial for Bank of America that will be spotlighted in May during AAPI month. He is currently a participant in the AICP Commercial Mentorship Program. A New Jersey native, Eric holds a BFA from Dartmouth College where he worked as an art gallery attendant and snowboarding instructor.

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Director Statement

People try to hide behind the idyllic trop that “Everyone is created equal,” but this is simply not true. They use this shield of fairness and equality to ignore or even suppress individuals and their unique talents and skills. Anyone who dares to step outside of this system or question their place within it is mercilessly crushed…suddenly or gradually, but always and absolutely.

In my youth, I tried to fight back against kids who would bully me and others in my grade, thinking there must be some justice to be attained. As I’ve gotten older, I have still yet to find it. I see the state of the world and how the powerful few are hurtling us all towards oblivion and I cannot help but feel there is no conquering the conquerors. There is only assimilating, blending, and subjugating your own voice. Anything that makes you stand out in any way is something to be quashed and hidden. To survive, you become a chameleon of sorts, meandering and lacking conviction until you wake up and realize all that you have given up. To this day, I resent myself for the years I spent hiding, scratching the surface at all I gave up and am still in search of.

CARCASS is my love letter to finding the courage, even after years of surviving, to step outside the system, raise your voice, and claim what redemption you can for yourself. May we all be as strong as Gabriel. Thank you.